1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to call routing in a communications network, and more particularly, to supporting interactive voice response and intelligent call routing.
2. Discussion of the Background
In a conventional call center, a call may first be directed into an interactive voice response (IVR) platform before the call reaches an agent to pre-screen the call. An IVR application associated with the IVR platform can query the caller for information pertinent to the call. This information retrieved from the caller is then forwarded to the call center agent as an aid for expediting the caller's request. Call centers with IVR platforms typically operate at lower cost than call centers staffed with agents performing tasks that could be performed by an IVR application. However, one drawback of the conventional IVR-configured call center is that call routing functions are limited. For example, when a call center agent has a need to pull back a call to the IVR platform, for example, to transfer the call, this is typically performed via dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones. However, such auditory tones are heard by the caller, and thus, are considered undesirable by many call center customers.
Further, if the call cannot be routed to an available call center agent, the call is placed in a queue of an automatic call distributor (ACD) waiting for an agent to become available. If calls are routinely placed in the ACD queue, ACDs with larger capacity are required, thereby increasing cost.
Therefore, there is a need for providing IVR capabilities, with enhanced call routing functions.